Four teams went undefeated in the opening weekend of SEC play: Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

Out of the six hitters who have played in half the sets and averaged at least one kill per set, three hit over .260.

Only two non-conference opponents hit over .200 against South Carolina: East Tennessee State (.207) and UAB (.285). All eight SEC foes have topped that mark.

South Carolina has been out-blocked nine times thus far in 2012 (3-6), while the 2011 team was topped on 13 occasions (1-12 in those matches).

At No. 21 Tennessee (9/23), the Gamecocks did not allow an ace, successfully passing all 87 serves they received.

The last time South Carolina did not allow an ace came in Scott Swanson's first game as head coach, against Montana on Aug. 26, 2011.

All About the Winning Streak

The 13-0 start for the Gamecocks ranks as the best in the program's NCAA-era history. The 1983 team began the season 12-0.

The 13-match winning streak was the second-longest documented skein in program history.

The longest winning streak came in 1983, as the team posted a 14-match streak from Oct. 15-Nov. 18.

The loss that ended the longest skein came in the 1983 Metro Conference Tournament final. Florida State won the five-set match to earn the automatic berth to the third NCAA Tournament. The field only had 28 teams at the time.

That 1983 team also had the best start previously in program history with 12 wins.

That was the second-longest documented winning streak for the Gamecocks until this year.

For the second-consecutive year, South Carolina was the last undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference.

The Difference Between Winning & Losing

South Carolina hits .311 in matches it wins and .164 in those it loses, a .147 difference.

The opponents when South Carolina wins hit .177. That jumps to .327 if the Gamecocks lose, a .150 gap.

Winning Gamecock matches see SC post 2.49 more digs per set than the opposition. When the foes triumph, the Gamecocks are outdug by 3.05 a frame.

In wins, South Carolina wins the blocking battle by averages of 2.07 to 1.71. In setbacks, the Gamecocks get outblocked 2.62 to 1.38.

Attacking the Record Book

Taylor Bruns is seventh in assists (2,476) and eighth in assists per set (7.30) in Gamecock history.

Juliette Thévenin stands 14th in SC history with 924 kills and 13th with 2,443 attacks.

A total of 91 more attacks move Thévenin past Berna Dwyer for 12th on that list.

Thévenin ranks 19th on the career points chart (as it would stand had everyone played in the rally-scoring era).

She's fourth on the points-per-set charts with a 4.18 average.

Thévenin's now second in kills per set (3.77) and 11th in digs per set (2.78) on the career charts.

The Gamecocks lost almost 50 percent of the team blocks from last season.

The next highest total of "lost" stats are kills, where 32.2 percent departed.

Last season, the Gamecocks led the SEC in digs per set. Only 12.2 percent of those departed.

Roster Notes

Eight freshman, including seven true rookies, are a part of the 17-person roster.

Three players hail from each South Carolina and Texas, the most on the team.

A pair of student-athletes both hail from California and Maryland.

Six other states and another country are represented by the seven remaining athletes.

For the 17th-consecutive season, the Gamecocks have had at least one international player.

A total of 16 players have appeared on the court so far. Only freshman Kira Speer has not seen any action and is on track for a redshirt year.

Gamecocks Host Sixth-Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Match
For the sixth-consecutive year, South Carolina hosts a breast-cancer awareness match, which for the a "Dig Pink" match, with the team raising awareness for combating breast cancer, wearing pink jerseys in the last two of these. The team is 2-3 in these special matches.

Scouting Alabama
In a near mirror image of the Gamecocks' 2012 season, the Crimson Tide come to Columbia with a 13-6 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the SEC. In league play, the Tide serving and overall defense stands out. Alabama ranked fourth in SEC play with 1.19 aces per set, while the team is eighth in opponent hitting percentage at .229. The Friday are within two places of each other in hitting percentage, kills, assists and blocks.

Kayla Fitterer returns as Alabama's top attacker, averaging 3.74 kills per set while standing fourth on the team with a .262 hitting percentage. Laura Steiner adds 2.96 kills per set. Guiding the offense is Sierra Wilson, who averages 10.88 assists a set. Cristina Arenas serves as the libero, posting 3.41 digs a frame. Kryssi Daniels leads the strong serving corps with 0.50 aces a frame. Wilson is next with 0.24, while Arenas (0.21) and Andrea McQuaid (0.20) would both land one in a five-set match, on average.

Series History vs. the Crimson Tide
Alabama leads the all-time series 22-17, dating back to 1979, with an 18-16 advantage since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991. The last two years, the teams have split, both defending their home court. In Columbia, South Carolina owns an 11-4 mark, including a 9-2 mark in the VCF.